We continue off from learning that in God’s eyes, worship without justice is worthless. We defined justice as “giving people what they are due, whether it is punishment or protection or care”. This refers not only to personal justice but also to our neighbours.

There are many of us who think if we do right by our personal justice, this is enough. But God is pleading with us through today’s passage that we are called to stand up for those around us and work to make right the things that are unjust in the world. For the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to transform and restore all injustices, brokenness, and forces of evil that are against the people of God.  

We look at the wisdom of justice, for how we respond in the face of injustice reveals a lot about who we are and the God we worship. As Christians, our lives are no longer lived out for ourselves. We care not only about our personal injustice but also the injustice we see from other people. 

Within the biblical context, justice is more than just punishment for doing wrong. The Hebrew word for justice is “mishpat”. Timothy Keller describes this word as “… giving people what they are due, whether punishment or protection or care”. We look deeper into the scriptures to see what justice is and what our role in bringing about justice in the way of Jesus looks like. For worship without justice is worthless. 

In Greek mythology, there was a king named Sisyphus who was punished eternally to roll a boulder uphill.  When he finally reached the top of the hill, the boulder would fall off and Sisyphus would have to roll the boulder uphill again. In our lives, we encounter the same outcome where the task seemingly is never finished. Whether it is an empty laundry basket, an empty inbox, or no more obligations at work – our experience is that the work is never finished.

However, just because work does not stop doesn’t mean we can’t stop. We are required to stop so that we may receive sufficient rest for our souls, for the sake of our families, and for the sake of the world. We will be looking into why ultimately, we don’t keep the Sabbath, but the Sabbath keeps us.

You might have heard of the term “Sunday night Blues”.  It’s the unease that comes as the weekend winds down, anticipating the next day as Monday and the start of another work week grind.

Many of us may be able to relate to the dreaded feeling of going back to work, and statistically, many of us are dissatisfied with our work.  However, the Bible tells us that work is a form of worship and that we should connect work with our Christian living.

As we continue from last week’s sermon on receiving correction in areas of foolishness, we now look at the theological solution.

The theological solution is that we need the Gospel. The Gospel says Jesus Christ is Lord and simultaneously has us surrender our pride to see we are not. With Jesus as Lord and the foundation to our identity, the truth of the gospel gives us the freedom to have room in our hearts to receive and accept correction without feeling personally offended.

It is safe to say that for most of us, if not all of us here today, receiving correction is not something we do well in. From the time we are little children until the day we die, we do not like to receive correction.

Mockers and fools do not accept correction – they resolutely refuse to change their ways.  But God calls us to be wise, approachable, teachable, and humble, in choosing to set aside our pride and live in the way of wisdom.

With this weekend being Mother’s Day weekend, we look into the wisdom of honouring our parents. For some of us, we may have had great relationships with our parents; others of us, not so much.

Why do we do the things we do?  Why do we say the things we say?  Why do we see things and hear things the way that we see and hear?  We tend to think as human beings that if we can change our circumstances, then things will be better.  However, the Bible teaches us that circumstances only reveal what is in our hearts.

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” – this is a well-known proverb advising us to be careful of what we say. Words can give life to people through love and spreading the Gospel, but words also have the power to condemn and hurt others. In a society where technology provides a global platform to spread our words to an even wider audience, we need to be even more responsible of what we say than ever before.

Continuing on from last week’s sermon, we know wisdom is rooted in Jesus first and foremost. But even as devoted believers of Christ, we can still find ourselves feeling very lost and confused in the face of difficult decisions, having a tough time asking for help or guidance.

We’ll be journeying into a new book: Proverbs. This book can easily be seen as a great choice for a monthly devotional (31 chapters), or with some of the letters containing wisdom from Solomon to his son, David. King Solomon was one with whom the Lord was pleased with, when Solomon’s one and only request was to have wisdom to rule over the Lord’s people well. This book serves as a reminder to us that by the grace of the Lord, we also have instruction on how to live and mature wisely in our lives.

In today’s passage, we see Mary Magdalene at the entrance to Jesus’ tomb. She expects to find Jesus laid down, but instead it seems like Jesus’ body has been stolen! As she is weeping, she encounters Jesus. Though she wants to hold onto Him, we see Jesus’ response is for Mary to not ‘touch’ or to not ‘hold’ onto Him. 

Jesus reveals to Mary His identity and His plans for her and the rest of us through His reply. 

What do you do in troubling or difficult circumstances that are beyond your own control? Do you try to resolve the issue by your own will and strength?

During Pastor John’s days in Chicago, one of the senior pastors at his local church had an interesting ministry philosophy. 

For any child who walks through his office, they would be blessed with a small gift. Candy, chocolates, or toys – there was a gift for everyone.

Similarly, as believers in the family of Christ, we are blessed not only with the presence of the Holy Spirit, but also with spiritual gifts by the Spirit. A spiritual gift is an expression of the Holy Spirit that empowers a follower of Christ to strengthen the body of Christ. These gifts have been given to us not for ourselves – but for the blessing of edifying the church and the world around us. 

Although God emphasizes the need for gentleness in the kingdom of God, this trait seems to help us go nowhere in a dog-eat-dog world. In a metropolitan city like ours especially – if you’re going to excel in life, you need to be aggressive at times. 

Knowing God does and can produce fruit in our lives. “Fruit” is God’s spiritual reference to what our lives produce out of walking with Him.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to be bold witnesses of the gospel. Whatever your role, wherever you are, whether you are a college student or working, whether young or old, strong or weak – God intends to fill all of us with the Spirit so we may partner with Him in the Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20).

These two questions assume that God is always up to something, and God is always inviting us to partner with Him.

But how many of us actually wake up with this mindset, morning after morning? We may not choose to embrace each day with this missional mind because we think God only moves within the four walls of a church or a Christian institution or organization (temple spirituality).

The promise of Jesus is finally realized as the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost. This moment is remarkable as like the Old Testament prophecies, the promises of the Holy Spirit to come (the newness of life, the indwelling power of the Spirit, the cleansing power and power to live differently as empowered witnesses) has become a reality, not only for the disciples but even for us today.

It’s easy for us as the church to gather week after week in our great huddles. To make the huddles as big as we possibly can, but never actually do something for the Kingdom of God. But Jesus is calling us to more than just gathering in huddles on Sunday. Jesus is calling us to be Spirit empowered witnesses. The Holy Spirit didn’t simply come for the enjoyment of the church, but for the empowerment of the church.